


Like Me

by VeraBAdler



Series: October 2019 challenges [18]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Canon!Dean, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 18:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraBAdler/pseuds/VeraBAdler
Summary: Cas watches the new kid, Dean, and he likes what he learns.Prompt 1: MisfitPrompt 2: "Mysterious Poison"





	Like Me

Cas notices him right away, of course. It's impossible not to notice him. In Cas's view, the new boy stands out wherever he goes, as if he's surrounded with a soft glow.

He's tall, and a little bit lanky. He's handsome -- pretty, even, with soft brown hair and beautiful green eyes. He clomps along the halls in army boots and holds himself like he's trying to look bigger than he is, wrapped up in an oversized leather jacket and worn-thin jeans. He's all swagger and smirk. He flirts with all of the girls, half of the boys, and more than a few of the teachers. He makes a lot of noise wherever he goes, and he makes all the heads turn his way.

But Cas sees what happens next. He sees how fast those heads turn away again. All that noise? It's like a smokescreen. Game recognizes game, as Cas's brother would say. This new boy, this Dean? He's a misfit. A loner. A freak, just like Cas. Maybe Cas prefers to hide in the shadows while Dean hides in plain sight, but they're both hiding.

So Cas watches him, and he sees who Dean really is.

Cas watches how Dean hits on the cheerleaders, even sneaks into the janitor's closet with a few of them. Cas notices that Dean never hooks up with the same girl twice, though. He sees the way that flirty smile never shows in his eyes.

Cas notices that Dean wears the mantle of the burnout dumb kid, that he never carries around a textbook or takes notes in class. But he also sees the way Dean can't resist answering the teacher's questions when they're reading Vonnegut in English class, and he's floored by the depth of insight in the answers he gives.

Cas sees the way Dean's face softens and changes when he's with his little brother Sam, an even taller and even lankier puppy of a boy. The kid's in middle school, but he comes to the high school building three times a week for AP classes. A scrawny little nerd like that? He would've been fresh meat for the bullies if Dean hadn't made it abundantly clear that anyone who so much as jostled a hair on Sam's head would be dead within seconds. 

Cas takes note of the loving care Dean lavishes on his car, a shiny black behemoth that purrs into the lot every morning. She's old, built in a time when comfort was paramount over trivialities like gas mileage or good taste. But her engine runs as smooth as velvet, and her chrome is always gleaming. Sometimes when Sam has activities after school, Dean will hold court in the parking lot, hoisting the hood and showing off her complicated guts to any fellow gearheads who might wander by.

Cas observes, basks in Dean's reflected light, and he puts together the pieces. He starts to see a picture of the man truly Dean is, the man he tries to hide under a load of flash and misdirection. 

Then half the staff is suddenly taken to the hospital one afternoon, victims of a mysterious poison in the teacher's lounge coffee machine. In the distracting swirl of rumors and canceled classes, Cas is the only one who notices the way Dean's dumb-ass facade evaporates. Cas watches him striding the halls, confident and competent, helping to corral everyone onto their buses for the emergency dismissal. Cas sees him dawdling, seeming to loiter aimlessly in the emptying halls. He realizes that Dean's staying a couple paces behind the cops, listening in to the chatter on their radios. He looks like he knows what he's doing. He looks like he's there to work.

Cas can't stay away any more. His curiosity is like a hand against his back, pushing him down the hall after them. He catches up to Dean, tugs him aside. “Tell me who you really are,” he murmurs. “Tell me how I can help.”

And that's how it begins.

**Author's Note:**

> There is no second part of this fic planned. (But who the hell knows what the future holds?)
> 
> Rebloggable link for this fic on tumblr is [here](https://blessyourhondahurley.tumblr.com/post/188428294581/october-18-like-me).


End file.
